The Four Poisons Of The Heart

You should know that all acts of disobedience are poision to the heart and cause its sickness and ruin. They result in
its will running off course, against that of Allh, and so its sickness festers and increases.
Ibn al- Mubrak said:

I have seen wrong actions killing hearts, And their degradation may lead to their becoming addicted to them.
Turning away from wrong actions gives life to the hearts, And opposing your self is best for it.
Whoever is concerned with the health and life of his heart, must rid it of the effects of such poisons, and
then protect it by avoiding new ones. If he takes any by mistake, then he should hasten to wipe out their
effect by turning in repentance and seeking forgiveness from Allh, as well as by doing good deeds that will
wipe out his wrong actions.

By the four poisions we mean unnecessary talking, unrestrained glances, too much food, and keeping bad
company. Of all the poisons, these are the most widespread and have the greatest effect on a heart's well-
being.

Unnecessary Talking

It is reported in al-Musnad, on the authority of Ans, that the Prophet sallAllhu 'alayhi wa sallam said:

"The faith of a servant is not put right until his heart is put right, and his heart is not put right until his tongue
is put right."
[1]

This shows that the Prophet sallAllhu 'alayhi wa sallam has made the purification of faith conditional on
the purification of the heart, and the purification of the heart conditional on the purification of the tongue.

At-Tirmdhi relates in a hadth on the authority of Ibn Umar:

"Do not talk excessively without remembering Allh, because such excessive talk without the mention of Allh
causes the heart to harden, and the person furthest from Allh is a person with a hard heart."
[2]

Umar Ibn al-Khattb, may Allh be pleased with him, said:

"A person who talks too much is a person who often makes mistakes, and someone who often makes
mistakes, often has wrong actions. The Fire has a priority over such a freqent sinner."
[3]

In a hadth related on the authority of Mu'dh, the Prophet sallAllhu 'alayhi wa sallam said,

"Shall I not tell you how to control all that?" I said, "Yes do, O Messenger of Allh." So he held his tongue
between his fingers, and then he said: "Restrain this." I said, "Oh Prophet of Allh, are we accountable for
what we say?" He saw said, "May your mother be bereft by your loss! Is there anything more than the harvest
of the tongues that throws people on their faces (or he said 'on their noses') into the Fire?"
[4]

What is meant here by 'the harvest of the tongues' is the punishment for saying forbidden things. A man,
through his actions and words, sows the seeds of either good or evil. On the Day of Resurrection he harvests
their fruits. Those who sow the seeds of good words and deeds harvest honour and blessings; those who sow
the seeds of evil words and deeds reap only regret and remorse.
A hadth related by Ab Huraira says,

"What mostly causes people to be sent to the Fire are the two openings: the mouth and the private parts."
[5]

Ab Huraira also related that the Messenger of Allh sallAllhu 'alayhi wa sallam said,

"The servant speaks words, the consequences of which he does not realise, and for which he is sent down into
the depths of the Fire further than the distance between the east and the west."
[6]

The same hadth was transmitted by at-Tirmdhi with slight variations

"The servant says something that he thinks is harmless, and for which he will be plunged into the depths of the
Fire as far as seventy autumns."
[7]

Uqba ibn Amr said

"I said: "O Messenger of Allh, what is our best way of surviving?' He, may Allh bless him and grant him
peace, replied: "Guard your tongue, make your house suffice for sheltering your privacy, and weep for your
wrong actions."
[8]

It has been related on the authority of Sahl ibn Sa'd that the Prophet sallAllhu 'alayhi wa sallam said,

"Whoever can guarantee what is between his jaws and what is between his legs, I guarantee him the Garden."
[9]

It has also been related by Ab Huraira, may Allh be pleased with him, that the Prophet, may Allh bless
him and grant him peace, said,

"Let whoever believes in Allh and the Last Day either speak good or remain silent."
[10]

Thus talking can either be good, in which case it is commendable, or bad, in which case it is harm.
The Prophet sallAllhu 'alayhi wa sallam said:

"Everything the children of Adam say goes against them, except for their enjoining good and forbidding evil,
and remembering Allh, Glorius and Might is He." This was reported by at-Tirmdhi and Ibn M'jah on the
authority of Umm Habba, may Allh be pleased with her.
[11]


Umar ibn al-Khattb visited Ab Bakr, may Allh be pleased with them, and found him pulling his tongue with
his fingers. Umar said "Stop! may Allh forgive you!" Ab Bakr replied; "This tongue has brought me to
dangerous places."
[12]


Abdullh ibn Mas'd said: "By Allh, besides Whom no god exists, nothing deserves a long prison sentence
more than my tongue." He also used to say: "O tongue, say good and you will profit;desist from saying evil
things and you will be safe; otherwise you will find only regret."

Ab Huraira reported that Ibn al-Abbs said: "A person will not feel greater fury or anger for any part of his
body on the Day of Judgement more than what he will feel for his tongue, unless he only used it for saying or
enjoining good."

Al-Hassan said: "Whoever does not hold his tongue cannot understand his deen."
The least harmful of a tongue's faults is talking about whatever does not concern it. The following hadth of
the Prophet saw is enough to indicate the harm of this fault: "One of the merits of a person's Islm is his
abandoning what does not concern him."
[13]


Ab Ubaida related that al-Hassan said: "One of the signs of Allh's abandoning a servant is His making him
preoccupied with what does not concern him."

Sahl said, "Whoever talks about what does not concern him is deprived of truthfulness."
As we have already mentioned above, this is the least harmful of the tongue's faults. There are far worse
things, like backbiting, gossiping, obscene and misleading talk, two-faced and hypocritical talk, showing off,
quarrelling, bickering, singing, lying, mockery, derision and falsehood; and there are many more faults
which can affect a servant's tongue, ruining his heart and causing him to lose both his happiness and
pleasure in this life, and his success and profit in the next life. Allh is the One to Whom we turn for
assistance.

Unrestrained Glances

The unrestrained glance results in the one who looks becoming attracted to what he sees, and in the
imprinting of an image of what he sees in his heart. This can result in several kinds of corruption in the heart
of the servant. The following are a number of them:

It has been related that the Prophet sallAllhu 'alayhi wa sallam once said words to the effect: "The glance is a
poisoned arrow of shaytn. Whoever lowers his gaze for Allh, He will bestow upon him a refreshing
sweetness which he will find in his heart on the day that he meets Him."
[14]

Shaytn enters with the glance, for he travels with it, faster than the wind blowing through an empty place.
He makes what is seen appear more beautiful than it really is, and transforms it into an idol for the heart to
worship. Then he promises it false rewards, lights the fire of desires within it, and fuels it with the wood of
forbidden actions, which the servant would not have committed had it not been for this distorted image.

This distracts the heart and makes it forget its more important concerns. It stands between it and them; and
so the heart loses its straight path and falls into the pit of desire and ignorance.

Allh, Mighty and Glorious is He, says:

And do not obey anyone whose heart WE have made forgetful in
remembering Us- who follows his own desires, and whose affair has
exceeded all bounds. (18:28)

The unrestrained gaze causes all three afflications.

It has been said that between the eye and the heart is an immediate connection; if the eyes are corrupted,
then the heart follows. It becomes like a rubbish heap where all the dirt and filth and rottenness collect, and
so there is no room for love for Allh, relating all matters to Him, awareness of being in His presence, and
feeling joy at His proximity-only the opposite of these things can inhabit such a heart.

Staring and gazing without restraint is disobedience to Allh:

Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and quard their modesty;
that is more purifying for them. Surely Allh is aware of what they do.
(24:30)

Only the one who obeys Allh's commands is content in this world, and only the servant who obeys Allh
will survive in the next world.

Furthermore, letting the gaze roam free cloaks the heart with darkness, just as lowering the gaze for Allh
clothes it in light. After the above ayah,

Allh, the Glorious and Mighty, says in the same srah of the the Qur'an:

Allh is the light of the heavens and the earth: the likeness of His light
is as if there were a niche, and in the niche is a lamp, and in the lamp
is a glass, and the glass as it were a brilliant star, lit from a blessed
tree, an olive, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil is well
nigh luminous, though fire scarce touched it. Light upon light. 'Allh
guides whomever He wants to His Light. Allh strikes metaphors for
man; and Allh knows all things. (24:35)

When the heart is a light, countless good comes to it from all directions. If it is dark, then clouds of evil and
afflictions come from all directions to cover it up.

Letting the gaze run loose also makes the heart blind to distinguishing between truth and falsehood, between
the sunnah and innovation; while lowering it for Allh, the Might and Exalted, gives it a penetrating, true
and distinguishing insight.

A righteous man once said: "Whoever enriches his outward behavior by following the sunnah, and makes his
inward soul wealthy through contemplation, and averts his gaze away from looking at what is forbidden, and
avoids anything of a doubtful nature, and feeds solely on what is hall-his inner sight will never falter."
Rewards for actions come in kind. Whoever lowers his gaze from what Allh has forbidden, Allh will give
his inner sight Abundant light.

Too Much Food

The consumption of small amounts of food guarantees tenderness of the heart, strenghth of the intellect,
humility of the self, weakness of desires, and gentleness of temperament. Immoderate eating brings about
the opposite of these praiseworthy qualities.

Al-Miqdm ibn Ma'd Yakrib said: "I heard the Messenger of Allh sallAllhu 'alayhi wa sallam say: "The son of
Adam fills no vessel more displeasing to Allh than his stomach. A few morsels should be enough for him to
preserve his strength. If he must fill it, then he should allow a third for his food, a third for his drink and leave a
third empty for easy breathing."
[15]

Excessive eating induces many kinds of harm. It makes the body incline towards disobedience to Allh and
makes worship and obedience seem laborious- such evils are bad enough in themselves. A full stomach and
excessive eating have caused many a wrong action and inhibited much worship. Whoever safeguards against
the evils of overfilling his stomach has prevented great evil. It is easier for shaytn to control a person who
has filled his stomach with food and drink, which is why it has often been said: "Restrict the pathways of
shaytn by fasting."
[16]

It has been reported that when a group of young men from the Tribe of Israel were worshipping, and it was
time for them to break their fast, a man stood up and said: "Do not eat too much, otherwise you will drink
too much, and then you will end up sleeping too much, and then you will lose too much."

The Prophet saw and his companions, may Allh be pleased with them, used to go hungry quite frequently.
Although this was often due to a shortage of food, Allh decreed the best and most favourable conditions for
His Messenger, may Allh bless him and grant him peace. This is why Ibn Umar and his father before him-
in spite of the Abundance of food available to them- modelled their eating habits on those of the Prophet
sallAllhu 'alayhi wa sallam.

It has been reported that Aisha, may Allh be pleased with her, said: "From the time of their arrival in Madina
up until his death saw, the family of Muhammad sallAllhu 'alayhi wa sallam never ate their fill of bread made
from wheat three nights in a row."
[17]


Ibrahm ibn Adham said: "Any one who controls his stomach is in control of his deen, and anyone who controls
his hunger is in control of good behaviour. Disobedience towards Allh is nearest to a person who is satiated
with a full stomach, and furthest away from a person who is hungry."
Keeping Bad Company

Unnecessary companionship is a chronic disease that causes much harm. How often have the wrong kind of
companionship and intermixing deprived people of Allh's generosity, planting discord in their hearts which
even the passage of time-even if it were long enough for mountains to be worn away-has been unable to
dispel. In keeping such company one can find the roots of loss, both in this life and in the next life.

A servant should benefit from companionship. In order to do so he should divide people into four categories,
and be careful not to get them mixed up, for once one of them is mixed with another, then evil can find its
way through to him:

The FIRST category are those people whose company is like food: it is indispensable, night or day. Once a
servant has taken his need from it, he leaves it be until he requires it again, and so on. These are the people
with knowledge of Allh-of His commands, of the scheming of His enemies, and of the diseases of the heart
and their remedies- who wish well for Allh, His Prophet saw and His servants. Associating with this type of
person is an achievement in itself.

The SECOND category are those people whose company is like a medicine. They are only required when a
disease sets in. When you are healthy, you have no need of them. However, mixing with them is sometimes
necessary for your livelihood, businesses, consultation and the like. Once what you need from them has been
fulfilled, mixing with them should be avoided.

The THIRD category are those people whose company is harmful. Mixing with this type of person is like a
disease, in all its variety and degrees and strengths and weaknesses. Associating with one or some of them is
like an incurable chronic disease. You will never profit either in this life or in the next life if you have them
for company, and you will surely lose either one or both of your deen and your livelihood because of them.
If their companionship has taken hold of you and is established, then it becomes a fatal, terrifying sickness.

Amongst such people are those who neither speak any good that might benefit you, nor listen cloesly to you
so that they might benefit from you. They do not know their souls and consequently put their selves in their
rightful place. If they speak, their words fall on their listeners' hearts like the lashes of a cane, while all the
while they are full of admiration for and delight in their own words.
They cause distress to those in their company, while believing that they are the sweet scent of the
gathering. If they are silent, they are heavier than a massive millstone-too heavy to carry or even drag
across the floor.
[18]

All in all, mixing with anyone who is bad for the soul will not last, even if it is unavoidable. It can be one of
the most distressing aspects of a servant's life that he is plagued by such person, with whom it may be
necessary to associate. In such a relationship, a servant should cling to good behaviour, only presenting him
with his outward appearance, while disguising his inner soul, until Allh offers him a way out of his
affliction and the means of escape from this situation.

The FOURTH category are those people whose company is doom itself. It is like taking poision: its victim
either finds an antidote or perishes. Many people belong to this category. They are the people of religious
innovation and misguidance, those who abandon the sunnah of the Messenger of Allh saw and advocate
other beliefs. They call what is the sunnah a bid'a and vice-versa. A man with any intellect should not sit in
their assemblies nor mix with them. The result of doing so will either be the death of his heart or, at the very
best, its falling seriously ill.

What Gives the Heart Life and Sustenance

You should know that acts of obedience are essential to the well being of the servant's heart, just in the same
way that food and drink are to that of the body. All wrong actions are the same as poisonous foods, and they
inevitably harm the heart.

The servant feels the need to worship his Lord, Mighty and Glorious is He, for he is naturally in constant
need of His help and assistance.

In order to maintain the well being of his body, the servant carefully follows a strict diet. He habitually and
constantly eats good food at regular intervals, and is quick to free his stomach of harmful elements if he
happens to eat bad food by mistake.

The well being of the servant's heart, however, is far more important than that of his body, for while the well
being of his body enables him to lead a life that is free from illnesses in this world, that of the heart ensures
him both a fortunate life in this world and eternal bliss in the next.

In the same way, while the death of the body cuts the servant off from this world, the death of the heart
results in everlasting anguish. A righteous man once said, "How odd, that some people mourn for the one
whose body has died, but never mourn for the one whose heart has died-and yet the death of the heart is far
more serious!"

Thus acts of obedience are indispensable to the well being of the heart. It is worthwhile mentioning the
following acts of obedience here, since they are very necessary and essential for the servant's heart: Dhikr of
Allh ta'l, recitation of the Noble Qur'n, seeking Allh's forgiveness, making du'as, invoking Allh's
blessings and peace on the Prophet, may Allh bless him and grant him peace, and praying at night.

Footnotes
1. D'f hadth, Al-Mundhar, 3/234; and al-Irq in al-Ihy, 8/1539.
2. D'f hadth, at-Tirmdh, Kitb az-Zuhud, 7/92, gharib; no one else has transmitted it other than Ibrahim
ibn Abdullh ibn Hatib, whom ath-Dhahab mentions, 1/43, stating that this is one of the gharib hadth
attributed to him.
3. Df hadth, Ibn Hibbn and al-Baihaqi, and al-Irq in his edition of al-Ihy, 8/1541.
4. Sahih hadth, at-Tirmdh, al-Hkim, ath-Dhahab.
5. Sahih hadth, at-Tirmdh and Ahmad; also al-Hakm and ath-Dhahab.
6. Al-Bukhr in Kitb ar-Riqq, and Muslim in Kitb az-Zuhud.
7. At-Tirmdih, Kitb az-Zuhud; he said the hadth is hasan gharb.
8. At-Tirmdhi in Kitb az-Zuhud with a slightly different wording; he said the hadth is hasan. This wording
is reported by Ab N'im in al-Hily.
9. Al-Bukhr , Kitb ar-Riqq, 11/308 and Kitb al-Hudd, 12/113.
10. Al-Bukhr , Kitb ar-Riqq, 11/308; Muslim, Kitb al-Imn, 2/18. The complete hadth is: "Let
whoever believes in Allh and the Last Day either speak good or remain silent; and let whoever believes in
Allh and the Last Day be generous to his neighbour; and let whoever believes in Allh and the Last Day be
generous to his guest."
11. The hadth is hasan and is reported by at-Tirmdh in Kitb az-Zuhud and by Ibn Mjah in Kitb al-Fitan.
At-Tirmdh classifies it as hasan gharib. We have no report of it other than from Muhammad ibn Yazid ibn
Khanis.
12. Hasan according to Ab Y'la, Baihaq and as-Suyut. Musnad, 1/201; as-S'ati.
13. Sahh, at-Tirmdh, Kitb az-Zuhud, 6/607; Ahmad, al-Musnad, 1/201; as-S'at, al-Fath ar-Rabbni,
19/257; hadth number 12 in an-Nawawi's Forty Hadths.
14. Daf , at-Tabarn, 8/63; al-Hkm, al-Mustadrak, 4/314; Ahmad, al-Musnad, 5/264.
15. Sahh, Ahmad, al-Musnad, 4/132; as-Sa'ati, al-Fath ar-Rabbni, 17/88; at-Tirmdhi, Kitb az-Zuhud,
7/51.
16. Df ; it does not appear in most of the sources of the sunnah, but is mentioned in al-Ghazzl's al-Ihy,
8/1488.
17. Al-Bukhr , Kitb al-At'ima, 9/549; and Muslim, Kitb az-Zuhud, 8/105.
18. Ash-Shf', may Allh be pleased with him, is reported to have said, "Whenever a tedious person sits
next to me, the side on which he is sitting feels lower down than the other side of me."